War: The Next Pope!

JMJ

As I write this on December 23, 2023, I can't help by wonder what the next Pope (i.e. Vicar of Christ) will do in the aftermath left by Pope Francis (the First and hopefully the Last).

Pope Francis has placed another landmine on the path outwards of this Crisis of the Catholic Church. Simply put, it is the allowance of 'blessings' for Gay Couples. The list of other landmines is long and glorious but some highlights would be the dismantling of the hierarchy, removal of priests and bishops for being 'divisive', ambiguous documents that open the Catholic Church to the acceptance of sinful acts as practical doctrine,

Yes, Pope Francis (elected March 13, 2013) has left quite a mess and this mess is what the next Pope, if he is a great (not just good) Vicar of Christ will have to walk the Way of the Cross to undo the evil Gordian knot tied by Popes since Pius XII.

Each Pope has, by their decisions, added Bights, Crossings, Elbows, and loops to the knot that that one wonders to how untie it (Link: Knot Term).

After some reflection, here's what I would tell a newly elected Vicar of Christ if he asked me.

Don't start with the knot, start with the rope.

Declare the complete Catholic Dogma in the face of the central issues. This would include a list of the Dogmas, that Catholics need to believe in order to remain Catholic and not (knot?) fall into heresy.
This will create an uproar from the the world, the flesh and the Devil. That's why it will require Heroic Virtue to stand against so many to proclaim the Truths of the Catholic Church.
This one act will make clear the battle lines with the Church and in the World, cutting numerous lines of the knot making it easier to unravel large sections of it.
In short, provide clarity.

Go to the knot's core, fix the seminaries.

The seminaries are either the gardens or breeding grounds of the Catholic Church.
If they are aligned with Catholic Teaching (ie Dogmas, Doctrines, Principles etc) then they are gardens. Gardens provide nourishment for the strengthening of the Church.
If they are not aligned with Catholic Teaching, then they are the breeding ground for heresy and revolutionaries.
We've seen this already where 'Garden" seminaries result in a flourishing of the Faith. Examples are the seminaries of Traditional Congregations and conservative diocesan seminaries - such as Lincoln, Nebraska.

Note this does not mean the there won't be problems. The cultural pressures of the world cannot be under-estimated. Attrition affects the ordained priests of the SSPX. They go to the diocese, leave the priesthood etc and it is essential to realize that it isn't easy to be a priest in this world. It never really has been easy, it is just harder now.

Organize the Vatican around the Mission of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is a hierarchical organization and needs to be optimized for decision making, taking action and communication.
Prioritize the elimination of persecution of faithful Catholics by people within the Catholic Church. No matter where they are in the hierarchy of the Church.
De-prioritize the transitory world issues until the Catholic Church has righted itself.

My first thoughts - there would be more but this would be a major starting point.

P^3

Comments

A Look Back: A short history of the SSPX

+ JMJ I started a timeline a while back but never finished it. Fortunately, here's one that brings us up to 1994!!! P^3 http://archives.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/a_short_history_of_the_sspx-part-1.htm A short history of the SSPX A presentation given by Fr. Ramon Angles in Kansas City, MO, on the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the SSPX and reprinted from the January 1996 issue of The Angelus . Part 1 The history of the Society of St. Pius X begins, of course, in the mind of God. But do not believe that its temporal origin is to be found solely at the time of the post-conciliar crisis. The Society of St. Pius X was made possible ...

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

+ JMJ A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment ) Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...

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